Automatic stoking apparatus.



W. J. KENNEY & H. P. GROHN. AUTOMATIC sToKlNG APPARATUS.

APPLCAHN FILED IAN. 29| IBIZ- 1,21 1,591. Patented Jan. 9,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHED' I.

W. J. KENNEY L H. P. GRUHN. AUTOMATIC sToKlNG APPARATUS.

APPucATToN FILED 1m29. |9|2. L21 1,591'.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

Ivm/673307' W. I. KENNEY & H. P. GROHN. AUTOMATIC sToKlNG APPARATUS.

APPLiCATION FlLED IAN' 29. i912.

Patented J an. 9, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

.1. KENNEY & H. P. GROHN. AToMATxc sToKlNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION HLED JAN 29. |912.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHUI 4.

piping UNiTnD oiuirno PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. XENNEY, 0F -WIILJIIEWIE, 4ANI) HENRY P. GB01-IN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOES TO UNDERFEED STOKER. CUMPANY 0F AMERICA, 0F GHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

A. CORPORATION 0F NEVI JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC STOKING APPARATUS.

Spclccilon of Lettera Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

Original nppliczilion :Sled October 1.2. 1606, Serial No. 457,198. Divided sind this npploatiun tiled January 9.3, 1912. Serial No. 678.993.

7k all Jh/mm if may concur-11.'

Be it known ibut, we, li'icnmu J. .Kiinnm' und llrzxnv l. (lumix, citizcns of thc United Sintes. residing, rcizpcctivclv, it Wilmette und (lliiougo, county of Cooli, StatcofIll nois. hnrc inrnnlcd, n ce1-tuin new and useful .lmprmcimrnl in Automat-ic Sinking' Apputains, nml flvrinre the following to bo n full, cloni', und cinici description of thc sumo, such in: will cnubic othrs skilled in the art lo `which il. peri'nns to malte and uso the sinne, rofcrcncc being inici to thc ricconi-mny ing drawings, which form n part o1 this specification.

Our inventif-fn relai/cs particularly to nuLonmic striking apparatus for locomotives .und luis foi its object beilfr no adapt such incclni nism to uno in connection with locomotives than has heretofore. boon possible.

The various features of, novelli-IV whereby our invention is characterized will heroin nftcr lic pointed ont with pnrticnln-rity in the claims; but, for :1 nil lindern-Landing of our nvcniinn und of its object. nml nflvnntages., rc fonce rmiybo bari to the foicning detailed llcsi iii-tion ialcci: in commotion with. the accompanying. drawings. wh 'oinz Figur-c 'l is :i riow pziriljf in .aille ricrntion and partly in src'tion of ri [n'ni'circii forni nl appa of th loconmfifo und its; lcnflcr boing in dicnlcd in dotted lines: Fig. 2 is u. scciion taken ihrou h tho lire lios; ol c. locomotive just alici-c tic striking meclninisin, showing the choking mechanism in plan; Fig. 3 is n diagram of thc piping nscd lo effect. tho mltornri tic control 01"' thc blows-r nml stolior mech :mism from n 'lirotio sal vo of ibi;- locomotives; Figi. i is i: lingriimniutir pino view nf thc :il to conncct tho savio-nl opoi'eiting cy inderowith the mechanism shown in Fig. ai and with tho controlling mechanism oporcnoii by the blowcr; Fig. 5 is u cio-fail of on@A of thc valvs shown in Fig. 3; {"ig. G is :in and view of the tender, showing' the blowers and jolie onjfincs fo;` driving thrn.; Fig. 7 is a top pino. .icwof -'ne mitornnticiill\' nil-- iustliilaintrilxc iiovicc foronc of thc blowirs.; Fig'. 8 is n. diagrammi-ic vicw of n modified :ninngcincnt embodying the piping and controllhigf mechanism; Fin f) is a sido 'I ills npplicd to u locoinolivc, portions view of mechanism carried by the tendr for conveying fuel to the feed mechanism of the suikers; and Fig. 10 is n section taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Referring to tho l'irst severi figures of the drawings, 1 represents the lire box of u. loco- Jnotirc in which ure )laced two rotorts 2. At the bnclc end of encli retort. is iiV ram 3 by which fuel placed into the hopper 4 is4 fed into the retort.

The incchnnisin for clolivering the. fuel Ainlzo the lire box und for disposm of. th linker :xml ash muy Luke any uson or preferred forms since om' invention is not. limitcd to nny particular tj' c of nieclmnisin for this purpose. In the ruwings we lm ve illustrated tho unilorfcofl Stoker described und claimed in our application Serial No. 457,19*.) of which the present application is u division. Briefly stated this construction is :is follows: Between che two remi-ts. und bcwccn ouch of the retorts und the adjacent nido wall of tho fire box is u mechanism 5 for receiving clinlcer and ash from the retorln and moving it, forwardly toward n dial chin-gc mitici: 6 nl the 4front. ond of the ro box, The. dischurgc outlet. is controllodby on oficillnlory member comprisin n shelf i :incl n cutting or breaking incliner 8 arranncil ai. righi; angles to cach other und extending across tho ontlci.. The olinlevs and ushos :irc foil forwardly upon thc shelf 7 nml, when thc shelf is dropped bho portions of linker und nsli hcnginw over the front cnil of thc outlet nrc cnt or broken away and fini-.cil flown ino the asl: box. The inembors 5 unil thc ejector are operated from a piston innnniod in n snitnblc cylinder 9 and conncctcd to tho inombers 5 :ind the ejector inf suitnblo links nml levers. arranged wihin :i closedrnir chamber 10 into which nir is.' forced und from which it pusscs up through snitublo outlets or twyer blocks in the rciorls.

In thc rein' ond of tho locomotive tender nro arranged two blowers 1l, one near e'ncli sida of thc tomlcr. The intuire for thc blowcrs is through thc sides of the tender und the discharge. is through a common flue 12 extending along-tho hott-om of the tender to thc front ond thereof where it is coupled to The rctorts arc the air chamber by a suitable iexible connection 13. Each blower may be driven by its own engine 14 arranged at the side thereof.

To facilitate the admission of air to the blowers, hoods 15 are movably mounted adjacent to the intakes of the blowers. These hoods preferably take the form of a sector of a spherical shell, the sector being less than a hemisphere and the diameter being the same as the diameter of the intakes 16. The hoods are mounted so as to be revoluble about vertical axes which intersect the axes of the intake openings. Each sector is provided with a wing 17 extending therefrom radially `relative to the axis of rotation. lVhen the locomotive begins to move, the air strikes the wings and turns the hoods so as to afford months for the intakes open in the direction of travel. Upon reversing the locomotive, the air, striking the Wings, re verses the hoods and again brings the mouths of the intakes facing in the direction of travel.

It is our intention to supply steam directly from the locomotive boiler to the blower engines, the rams, andthe cylinder for moving the clinkers and ashes, suitable controlling mechanism being provided to give reliable and efficient operation under all conditions. The piping and controlling devices for the steam are best shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Referring to these `figures, 18 represents a pipe leading from any suitf able point of a locomotive boiler and adapted to supply the requisite steam to the stoker mechanism. From this pipe extends a branch 1'? which is continued back through the vtender to a point adjacent to the blower mechanism where it is connected to three automatic valve devices, 20, 21 and 22 suitably operated from one or both of the blower engines. These valve devices may be similar to those described and claimed in Patent No. 782,269 and therefore no detailed description thereof is here given. From the valve device 20 extend two pi es 23 and 24 which lead to the two ends o oneof the ram cylinders. Similarly pipes 25 and 26 lead from the valve device 21 to the two ends of the other ram cylinder, and pipes 27 and 28 lead from the valve device 22 to the opposite ends of the cylinder 9. Thus whenever the blower engines are operated steam at boiler pressure will be admitted alternately at opposite ends of the ram cylinders and of the cylinder 9 so as to recipro` cate the pistons in these cylinders, the rate of reciprocation depending upon vthe adjust- -ment of the valve devices 20 to 22. Steam is supplied to the blower engines through a pipe 29 which is connected to the supply pipe 18 by means of a valve 30. The pipe 29, like the pipe 19, extendsback through the tender and is there connected to both of the trols the steam to the blower en ines so as 7 to make them meet the deman upon the stoking mechanism. We have not illustrated the regulator in detail since it is a common device which, as illustrated in Patent 782269, has heretofore been used for governinthe blower engines of automatic stokers. urther control over the steam supply of the blower engines may be had by means of manually operated valves 32 and 33 arranged on opposite sides of the regulating valve and by means of a valved by-pa 34 extending around the regulator valve. The main controlling valve 30 for the steam supply to the lblower engines is preferably located near the throttle valve 35 of the engine and is operated by the lever 36 of the throttle valve so that when thethrottle valve is closed the valve 30 is also closed, since the demand upon the stoking mechanism ceases or is at least greatly reduced when the throttle valve'of the locomotive is closed. We do not, however, desire to have a complete cessation of the stokin operation Whenever the throttle valve o the locomotive is closed and therefore we prefer so to construct the valve 30 that when it is closed it will still allow sufficient steam to pass to permit the blower enginesto run at a speed great enough to keep the fires from dying down below the point necessary to maintain the r uired steam pressure. This may convenient y be accomplished by providing the gate 37 of the valve 30 with a small port 38, as indicated in Fi 5 so as to permit the requisite amount o steam to pass through the valve when, closed. We also place a valvod bypass 39 around` the valve 30 so that steam may be admitted from the supply pipe to the pipe 29 at any time without passing through the valve 30.

When the locomotive is running there is considerable draft through the stack by reason of the exhaust steam which is discharged through the stack, this draft being of course a factorin the normal opera- 1 tion of the Stoker. When the engine stops running, or whenever the throttle Valve isV closed` whether the en 'ne is running or not, this draft throng the stack is no longer present and this may often be a dis- 1 advantage. To overcome the disadvantage of lack of draft through the stackwhen there is no steam being exhausted from the. locomotive through the stack, Wehave provided means for discharging steam through 1 Lauper the stack at any time so as to produce the effect of the steam exhausted by the locomotive engine. In the arrangement shown, We have provided a `pipe 40 which extends from the supply pipe 18 to a suitable ex haast nozzle 41 in or directly below the Stack of the locomotive. The pipe-'40 is provided with a valv` 42 which is placed adjacent to the throtte valve of the loeomotive so as to be capable of being operated by the throttle valve. In the preferred arrangement, the parts are so arranged that when the throttle valve is closed the valve if is opened. In other Words, Whenever the normal/exhaust of steam through the stack is Stopped. an auxiliary exhaust is sot up so that there will always be sufficient draft to give the best resulte. We prefer to provide a valved ley-pass i3 around the valve l2 so that steam may be discharged through the nozzle 41 at any time, by open-- ing the valve in the luy-pass. independently of the main valve 42. By this means the nozzle il may be brought into lay not only when the locomotive is Stan ingr,r idle or when the throttle valve is cloned1 but also when the engine running and it is desired to assist the ordinary draft.

In Fig. 8 we have illustrated a 1nodii cation in which the blower and its engine, the regulator and. the ai'ltomatic controlling valves are all carried directly upon the locomotive. In this ligure 11LL and 14 are. respectively the blower and its engine and 12 is the conduit leading from the blower to the air chamber beneath the retorte. The piping is the salue except that the pipes 19 and 2U do not extend back into the tender.

In Figs. l) and 10 We have illustrated power actuated meana for conveyingtbc fuel from the tender into the hoppers of the etokere. The arrangement consiste of an endless belt 4eisupported upon sprocket wheels l5 and the first oi' which is located just in rear oi the hoppers and the other in the back portion of the tender. The sprocket wheels are suitably supported upon horizontal rcvoluble shafts i7 and 48, respectively. The shaft 4S may be driven by a` chain 49 passing over a Sprocket wheel 50 on one ot' the engine Ashafts. The conveyor belt may be provided` with cleats 51 to give it a firuier hold upon the fuel. Ae shown iu Fig. 1G. the door of the tender is preferably inclined downwardly from each side toward the conveyer as indicated at 52, in order that the fuel will roll b v gravity from the aides of the tender upon the conveyer, thus eliminating the necessity for shoveling or raking any of the fuel upon the conveyor. lVhen the blower engines are in operation the con veycr belt is driven Slowly` so as to carry the overlying fuel progressively toward the front and there discharge it into the hoppers from which it is in turn delivered into the retorts by means of. the rame.

For the sake of brevity we have illus1- trated and, described in detail only a Single preferred embodiment ol our invention with a slight modification thereof: but we desire to have it understood that We are not limited to the specific structural details or arrangements ao illustrated and described. Thus, for example` the type of Stoker, the number of retorts, the number, arrangement and location of the blovversl may be varied at will.

No claim:

1. In combination with a locomotive, a furnace, au automatic Steam-actuated Stoker mechanism for delivering fuel to the furnace` a steam supply pipe for said Stoker mechanism, a valve. in said supply pipe, a locomotive throttle valve.` a common actuating means for the aforesaid valves. and a valved ov-pass around the valve in said supply' pipe.

Q. In combination with a locomotive. an automatic Stoker, and means for automatically causing* the operation of the Stoker when the locomotive engine is operated and for reducing' the rate of operation of the Stoker Without entirelv stopping it when the locomotive engine is stopped.

In combination with a loconxotive, a furnace. an automatic Stoker inv the furnace for delivering fuel thereto. a throttle valve for the locomotive engine.` and means independent of the locomotive engine for controllingr the operation of the Stoker by the operation of the throttle valve.

4. In combination with a locomotive, a furnace1 an automatic Stoker in the furnace 'for delivering fuel theretm a throttle valve for the locomotivey engine` and means con-e trolled by the throttle valve and independ eut of the locomotive engine for varying tbe quantity of fuel delivered to the furnace as the Speed of the engine is varied.

5. ln combination 1with a locomotive, a furuaw. au automatic Stoker in the furnace for deliverii'io1 fuel thereto, a` throttle. valve for the locomotive engine, and means for reducing the. uuantitv of fuel delivered to the furnace and Causing it to be supplied ut a.v preelrtermiuwl nuuiunun rate when the engine ia Stopped bv such throttle valve.

6. in combination with a locomotive. a furnace. an automatic Stoker in the furnace vfor deliwring fuel thereto, a throttle valve for the locomotive engine, means for automaticallv varying the quantity of fuel delivered to the. furnace as the speed of the engine is varied. and means actuated by' the throttle valve for controllingr the a mount of air supplied to the furnace.

'i'. ln combination with. a. locomotive, a furnace, an automatic Stoker in the furnace for delivering* fuel thereto, an engine for operating said stoker, and a common control for the locomotive engine and such Stoker engine.

8. In combination with a locomotive, a furnace, an automatic Stoker in the furnace for delivering fuel thereto, a throttle valve for the locomotive engine, a blower for supplying air under pressure to the furnace, means associated with the throttle valve for automatically varying the operation of the blower as the throttle valve is shifted, and means for increasing the draft of the locomotive by the closing of the throttle valve.

In combination, a. boiler, an automatic Stoker for heating the boiler, a valve for controlling the delivery of steam from the boiler, and means controlled by said valve for increasing the rate of operation of the Stoker from and decreasing it to a predetermined minimum rate at which the vStoker normally operates when no steam is being taken through said valve from the boiler.

10. In combination, a boiler, an automatic stoker for supplying' heat to the boiler, a main valve for controlling the delivery of steam from the boiler, a valve for controlling the operation of the Stoker, and connections between said valves constructed and arranged to cause the controlling valve for the stoker to remain open htly W f the main valve is closed and tl'lbge openelw'ore widely as the main valve is opened. f,

11. In combination with a locomotive, an automatic Stoker, means for-automatically causing the operation of the=stcker when the locomotive engine is operated, means for removing from the Stoker the clnkers and ashes resulting from the combustion, and means for .automatically causing the operation of the removing means when the locomotive engine is operated.

12. In combination with a locomotive, an automatic Stoker, means for automatically causing a decrease in the rate of operation of the Stoker to a predetermined minimum when the locomotive engine is stopped, means for removing from the Stoker the clinkers and ashes resulting from the oombustion, and means for automatically causing the operation of the removing means when the locomotive en 'ne is operated.

In testimony whereo we sign this specification in the rence of two witnesses.

IWILLIAM J. KEN NEY. HENRY P. GROHN. Witnesses:

MARGARET FALABEE, JnANNm'ra SHIvuLr. 

